taut hand

English

Noun

taut hand (plural taut hands)

1. (nautical, dated) An officer who is severe in discipline.
   • 1993, Dewey Lambdin, The Gun Ketch:

     " […] I'm no Tartar nor a slavedriver. But I am a taut hand, and a taut ship where every man jack works clearly for me, our ship, his mates, and our Fleet is a happy ship. […] "

     (the novel The Gun Ketch is set in the late 1800s)

2. (nautical, dated) strict discipline.
   • 1879, George Cupples, The Green Hand: Adventures of a Naval Lieutenant:

     "Twas the first time I did that part of the duty in command, and I felt, in the circumstances, I was in for carrying it out with a taut hand."

References

• “taut”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.